The Ugandan parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law on as the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 (previously called the “Kill the Gays bill” on 20 December 2013. The Ugandan President signed his assent to the Anti-Homosexuality Act on 24 February 2014. The…
On 23 August 2013 the board of Transgender Education & Advocacy (TEA), comprising 3 trans Kenyans — Audrey Mbugua, Maureen Muia, and Annet Jennifer — sued the Kenyan State and the NGO Coordination Board for refusing to register TEA as…
Strategic Action Litigation (SAL) is a process in Public Interest Law whereby members of a marginalised group deliberately and proactively take a test case to court for the purpose of establishing a positive legal precedent with legal implications that go…
On 14 June 2013, Kenya’s High Court upheld Batha Nthungi’s petition filed a year earlier, in which she declared that being stripped and physically assaulted by the Kenyan Police violated her human rights (A.N.N v Attorney General). The Court agreed…
In March 2013 Audrey Mbugua, a trans woman, filed a case (JR Case No. 147 of 2013) at Kenya’s High Court to compel the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to change the name on her high school diploma. She also…
Gender DynamiX (GDX) and a cohort of other trans organisations lodged an appeal with the South African Parliament on 13 November 2012 with regard to the ongoing failure to implement the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, Act…
Batha Nthungi, a trans woman, filed a constitutional petition (240 of 2012) against Kenya’s Attorney General for violation of her human rights on 6 June 2012. She had been arrested in 2011 and stripped by a police officer after it…
2011 — Trans Woman Tshepo Ricki Kgositau Sues the State for the Right to Gender Marker Change, Botswana Batswana trans woman, Tshepo Ricki Kgositau, (former Executive Director of Gender DynamiX) applied to the Civil and National Registration office in Gaborone,…
2 December 2010 — High Court Ruling Against Intersex Prisoner, Kenya In the case, Richard Muasya v. the Hon. Attorney General, High Court of Kenya on 2 December 2010, Muasya lost his case of claiming violations of his constitutional rights,…
On 13 August 2010 the South African Labour Court ruled in favour of reinstating Christine Elhers after she took her employer, Bohler Uddeholm, to court for unfair discrimination and for dismissing her based on her gender identity. Judge Francis not…
Transgender Education & Advocacy (TEA) successfully filed change of name applications on behalf of 3 trans women in 2010. Their names were changed in their passports, but the Kenyan state failed to carry these changes through to their national identity…
In May 2010, Auntie Tiwonge and Steven Monjeza were sentenced to 14 years of hard labour after being arrested on charges of gross indecency for publicly celebrating their relationship the previous year. However, Malawian President Mutharika reversed this decision after…
On 10 December 2009, Ugandan activist, Victor Mukasa, co-founder of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and program associate for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLRHC) spoke at a landmark meeting of the United Nations General Assembly panel. The…
Auntie Tiwonge and Steven Monjeza celebrated their relationship at Auntie’s place of work in December 2009. Various mainstream media in Malawi published announcements of the “first gay marriage” in Malawi, which was wrongly reported, as Auntie Tiwonge was a trans…
On 14 October 2009 the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced to parliament in Uganda, sparking international outrage and condemnation. The Bill sought to further criminalise homosexuality in the country, imposing life imprisonment for those found guilty of engaging in homosexual acts,…
The Out in Africa (OIA) Gay and Lesbian Film Festival won its case against the South African Film and Publications Board to unban the film XXY in August 2009. At the end of February of that same year, OIA argued…
22 December 2008 — Court Rules in Favour of Trans and LGBTI Activist Victor Mukasa, Uganda After a trial of three years, the Ugandan High Court ruled in Victor Mukasa’s favour on 22 December 2008. In this landmark ruling, the…
In September 2009, the South African Film and Publications Board banned the intersex film XXY* on the grounds that they believed the film portrays child pornography. The Spanish film with English subtitles was produced by an Argentine filmmaker and tells…
Between 2007 and 2022, legal advocacy for intersex person in Kenya saw massive strides. Strategic Action Litigation (SAL) is a process in Public Interest Law whereby members of a marginalised group deliberately and proactively take a test case to court…
July 2005 — Trans and LGBTQIA+ Activist, Victor Mukasa, Sues Government, Uganda On 20 July 2005, trans man and LGBTQIA+ activist Victor Mukasa’s house was raided by the police without a search warrant. They were looking for documents relating to…